Method of connecting a grommet to a support



J. M. PRINCE Aug. 21, 1956 METHOD OF CONNECTING A GROMMET TO A SUPPORT Filed Jan. 17, 1955 INVENTOR. JOHN. M. PRINCE ATT United States Patent p- 2,759,255 METHOD OF CONNECTING'A onomtnr To 'SUPP'GRT John M.- Prince, Gary, 1nd,, assignorito lsiro ductive' lnventions, km, a corporation of Indiana Application "January 17, 1'9ss, seriar Noe- 482333 6 Claims. (or 29450) The invention is directedto a unique m'efliodj of at taching' grommet like item'sintli e opening er a'support-anda' tool or holder to assist in practicing the' method.

One method currently being usedito fmt en io'tr'iniefs' in place merely consists of manually pinching or contracti n'g one end ofth'e" grommet and forihgit into th'e opening and then re easin thee mscred end" so ireahexpand or substantially retn'rn-toits angina-sna s; conventional method has notpro en'entir'ely satisfactory because it is tiring and a tiine cohsuniing foli for any operator to compress and insert the grommets: More ts g I support to compressor otherwise distort 'one'of'the abuts ments to' permit passage of thegroinmetinto tfieepenih from one side of the su portuntil tlieotlieriahuthiefit engages the support whereupen'furtnt movemen't'qt as holder through the op'e'ning'fto' the opposite side of the support will release" the holder from the" area-rater asaallow the compressed abutment" to amem anwetura substantially' to its former shape" to"eng'age @5150 aside of the support to lock in the support located between the abu'tihefits.

The method is performed by an elongatedlioldeifor tool Having a handle "at oneextremity to 'facilitaterifai'tiip'd place was lation of the tool and yle dane; receiving mean at or adjacent its other extremity to form a socketfor detachably retaining a grommet therein in a manner where by the holder may be readily released from the grommet after the grommet has been iioted or" qirected' into the opening and is seated liy the: Holder. Tlidsocket or receiving means for the grommet may be 16SlgI1ed*a l1 d{C0 Il structedin-various ways but as exemplified in the drawiiig preferably includes a plurality of elongated resiliently flexible fingers or jaw members which are normally spaced apart farther at their free ends than adjacent their inner ends. The inner side of the free end of each finger is preferably notched and these notches form the receiving means or socket. The fingers and socket are so constructed that a grommet can be easily inserted into the socket prior to its entry into the opening of the support and also afford a prompt release of the holder from the grommet after the grommet is properly seated in the opening.

The method is performed by a holder for the purpose described which will accommodate, w-ithin practicable limits, grommets of variable cross-sectional dimensions or sizes.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will v, steraeilirar 1's somewhat "tiger" draw 2,759,255 .?te".*el,ese$119? M s rericfionwifli' the drawings amexed aerate.

Fi ures is'an enraged-pa grommet earned "ther se er the holder farid s re ris a newsletter-ta F nns '3' haw gate 3- sitio of th newer and grommet as -theya tang section seated in d Refenm m-ere paitlcqi K the. drawin rg nerallydeslgnates'th he tool, and}? the supp-e vi ed "th anjop wh n the notes? passed through the opening. a

The; holdermay Be i'gh'ed; and

resineaay; flexible antiwar the constitutesa hand mam uiet rit -newer is prefer 1y members 5 areb itt'urnezi oasis in a' diver ing relaaonnlip as'dflhstratedfin Ft u 2 1111 3. In other war s', the ei'ttrjemityp evia awl h thefin er ifs'gen'rally inthe farmer's ap" edf'cvlji r, the "free end tar-ware than at an "other 1esti aspseea ma i" 'Ea'hfiiiger a ace-m" with an ntefnal a uti'hehtj spaced longitudinally ifiwera and of tent than abutment 7 to form with tme Iii a ecess. jrhe reees sesfin ens-rein 0v e yielda'ble (ii-resiliently flexible ree v me ns or see a for; tire gr'omna tas clearly er'm'p inea i'n Fi ines 3aridf4 of title 7 ed, an of the, fiiig s p d' other wards; {t e rape-rs as st fingers'foutwaiid ly while-r11 gr the secret: The "grentm'etfiia during the insertion into the s or plat d under compression tlieliolder as's'liowiiiiiFi i is" generally eylii'i'dncar ana' tiibul'ar" and provided with an exterior groove to form a neck 10 and a pair of corresponding axially spaced apart ends or abutments 11 and 12 between which the abutments 7 on the fingers are located when the grommet is disposed in the holder. Attention is directed to the fact that the diameter of a portion of the holder and the diameters of the neck and opening are more or less the same so that the fingers 5 will move radially inward when the holder is passed through the opening and the grommet will properly fit in the opening of the support. It is to be understood that the method and holder can be utilized to assemble grommets of diiferent kinds, shapes and sizes with a support.

The method of assembling or transferring the grommet on the holder to the support is novel and expeditious and is readily accomplished by merely inserting the handle 6 of the holder into the opening 4 and threading or passing the holder through the opening 4 which is of a size to cam or urge the fingersinwardly to distort or compress the end 12 of the grommet and as the opposite end 11 of the grommet engages the upper side of the support as shown in Figure 4 to prevent the grommet from being carried entirely through the opening, the holder will direct the end 12 of the grommet to the underside of the support and clear the opening so that the fingers are free to flex outwardly and facilitate detachment of the holder from the grommet, whereupon the end 12 will automatically return to its original shape or flip into engagement with the underside of the support with the support disposed between the ends 11 and 12 of the grommet to interlock the grommet and support as shown in Figure 5. This method has proven to be very efficient, practical and expeditions in use and only one fast stroke of the holder through the support is required to transfer the grommet from the holder into connection with the support.

Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various modifications may be made in the same without departing from the spirit of the invention; and, therefore, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construction, arrangement, and combination of par-ts herein shown and described.

I claim:

1. A method of transferring a resilient grommet, detachably held in an assembly tool, to a support provided with an opening therein, which consists in inserting and moving the entire tool in one continuous direction through the opening to cause a portion of the grommet to engage one side of the support and distort and force another portion of the grommet through the opening, and

then releasing the tool from the grommet after the tool passes entirely through the opening so that said another portion will substantially return to its original shape and engage the other side of the support and thereby secure the grommet thereto.

2. A method of assembling a resilient grommet having enlarged ends with a support provided with an opening therein, which consists in seating one end of the grommet in an assembly tool and moving the entire tool in one continuous direction through the opening to cause said end to pass through the opening with its other end engaging one side of the support, after which the tool is released from the grommet so that said one end may return to substantially its original shape at the other side of the support and thereby secure the grommet in the opening with the support disposed between the ends of the grommet.

3. A method of assembling a resilient grommet having enlarged ends with a support provided with an opening therein, which consists in seating one end of the grommet in one extremity of an elongated assembly tool, inserting the opposite extremity of the tool into the opening and moving the tool in the opening until the other end of the grommet engages one side of the support, then pulling said one end entirely through the opening, after which the tool in passing entirely through the opening is released from the grommet so that said one end may return to its substantially original shape to engage the other side of the support and thereby secure the grommet in the opening with the support disposed between the ends of the grommet.

4. A method of transferring and connecting a resilient grommet, detachably held by yieldable members of an assembly tool, to a support provided with an opening therein, which consists in moving the entire tool in one continuous direction through the opening to cause the members to move toward one another to firmly grip and distort one enlarged portion of the grommet so that as this portion is being directed through the opening another enlarged portion of the grommet will be located at one side of the support, and then releasing the tool from the grommet after the tool and said one portion of the grommet pass entirely through the opening to the other side of the support to permit said one portion to substantially return to its original shape at the said other side of the support with said support disposed between said portions.

5. A method of transferring and connecting a resilient grommet, detachably held in a yieldable socket of an assembly tool to a support provided with an opening therein, which consists in moving the entire tool through the opening in one direction to cause contraction of the socket to distort one portion of the grommet so that as it is being pulled through the opening another portion of the grommet will engage one side of the support, and then releasing the tool from the grommet after the tool and said one portion of the grommet pass entirely through the opening to the other side of the support to permit said one portion to substantially return to its original shape and engage said other side of the support and thereby connect the grommet to the support.

6. A method of transferring and connecting a resilient member having a neck and enlarged portions to a support having a planar part provided with an opening of a size less than the enlarged portions of the member, which consists in placing one portion of the member in a yieldable socket at one end of an elongated assembly tool, inserting the other end of the tool into the opening and directing the tool entirely through the opening in one continuous direction so that the yieldable socket will engage the margin of the opening to cause contraction of the socket and compress the said one portion of the member, and directing said compressed portion through the opening to locate the neck of the member in the opening while causing the other portion of the member to engage one side of the support so that after the tool passes entirely through the opening the socket will automatically expand and release the compressed portion of the member for expansion against the opposite side of I the support.

Behlert Apr. 26, 1949 Mueller Nov. 3, 1953 

